Many Europeans are unhappy with the speed of their broadband connection, a Eurobarometer study has found. The research, commissioned by the European Union, revealed that a third of all subscribers have suffered from loss of service at some point, while a quarter of them feel that the speeds they receive do not match their expectations based on the deal they signed up for.

The E-Communications Household Survey was carried out between 9 February and 8 March 2011 using a sample of 27,000 households that, according to the EU, are representative of the EU population.

The EU said that legislation that came into play on 25 May 2011 forces service providers to provide much more comprehensive information about minimum service levels before they sign up for a contract.

“Consumers are telling us loud and clear that they are worried they are not getting the internet speeds and quality of service they have been promised,” Neelie Kroes, European commission vice president for the Digital Agenda, said in a statement. “National authorities must take appropriate measures to ensure that operators respect new EU rules requiring to them to be transparent on connection speeds and service quality. If this should not be sufficient, I would not hesitate to take further action in the form of more prescriptive guidance, or even legislation if it is needed.”

Despite this dissatisfaction however, the report found that six out of ten householders said they have never considered switching to another service provider.

The survey also found that users are concerned about their privacy with 88 per cent stating that they would wish to be informed if any of their personal data collected by the company was lost, stolen or altered in any way.